Churchill featured in two media polls. He was ranked as the greatest British prime minister of the twentieth century by 20 prominent historians, politicians and commentators. They were asked by BBC Radio 4's The Westminster Hour to rank the 19 prime ministers from Lord Salisbury at the turn of the century through to John Major in the 1990s. In a 2002 BBC 2 television poll Churchill was ranked as the greatest Briton in history. A million votes were cast, and the voting was heavily influenced by public campaigns for various candidates.

In 1900, he became a politician in the Conservative Party, and was elected to Parliament. In 1904, he changed parties and joined the Liberal Party, but later returned to the Conservative Party. He married Clementine Hozier in 1908, and had 5 children named Diana, Randolph, Sarah, Marigold and Mary.

World War I

In 1910 Churchill became Home Secretary, one of the most important members of the government. In 1911 he was made First Lord of the Admiralty, which put him in charge of the Royal Navy. When World War I broke out, he stayed in that job. He organized an invasion in Gallipoli which went wrong, and because of this, he was made to leave the government. He joined the army and was sent to fight in France, although he was still a Member of Parliament. In 1917 he was made minister in charge of military supplies (Minister of Munitions).

Between the wars

After World War I, in 1919, Churchill was made Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Air (aircraft). In 1921 he was in charge of the colonies as Secretary of State. Soon after, in 1922 he lost in an election. In 1924 he became a member of Parliament again, this time not as a member of any party. In 1925 he joined the Conservative Party again. He became Chancellor of the Exchequer (Minister of Finance) in 1924.

After 1929, Churchill disagreed with many things the Conservative party believed in. He was not given any job in the government. Instead he wrote books. One was called Marlborough: his life and times, about his famous ancestor John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough; another was A History of the English Speaking Peoples, which was not published until after World War 2.

When Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, Churchill warned that Britain should strengthen its military and oppose Hitler. However, very few leaders agreed with him.

World War II

At the start of World War II, Churchill was again put in charge of the Navy. In 1940 the war was going badly for Britain. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned on May 10 and Churchill was given the job. Some people thought that Britain could not win the war, and that the British government should make peace with Hitler. Churchill was sure that Britain could win, and promised to continue the fight. He made famous speeches that are still remembered today.

He was friends with the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. He persuaded Roosevelt to give supplies to Britain, and to help Britain. He had many meetings with Roosevelt and with Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, after they came into the war. They were called the Big Three.

After the war

In 1945, his Conservative party lost an election, and he stopped being Prime Minister. However, he became Prime Minister again in 1951, which he was until 1955.

Churchill with American General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery at a meeting of NATO in October 1951, shortly before Churchill was to become prime minister for a second time

Crowd demonstrates against Britain in Cairo on 23 October 1951 as tension continued to mount in the dispute between Egypt and Britain over control of the Suez Canal and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.

Churchill spent much of his retirement at his home Chartwell in Kent. He purchased it in 1922 after his daughter Mary was born.

Churchill's grave at St Martin's Church, Bladon

Sir Winston Churchill's funeral train passing Clapham Junction

Allies (1995) by Lawrence Holofcener, a sculptural group depicting Franklin D. Roosevelt and Churchill in New Bond Street, London

The statue of Churchill (1973) by Ivor Roberts-Jones in Parliament Square, London